NEW YORK, NY.- Beginning this fall, The Frick Collection will present a stunning exhibition of more than forty objects on loan from the Terra Sancta Museum. Ranging from liturgical objects in gem-encrusted gold and silver to richly decorated vestments in velvet, damask, and other fine materials, the works were created for the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and were largely unknown until their rediscovery by scholars in the 1980s. They represent the pinnacle of European craftsmanship in these fields during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and many have no parallel anywhere in the world. To the Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum offers visitors the opportunity to view these objects for the first time in North America.

The exhibition features a selection from the Treasure of the Custody of the Holy Land, established in 1309 by the Franciscan order to oversee Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and the Middle East. One of the major sites that the Custody oversees (alongside other Christian denominations) is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher—the holiest place in Christianity, believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Over the centuries, European Catholic monarchs and Holy Roman Emperors sent sumptuous gifts to the Franciscans in Jerusalem, often in the form of liturgical objects and vestments. The golden age of this gift-giving occurred from the early 1600s to the late 1700s, the range represented in the exhibition. The Franciscans have safeguarded the works ever since, using them in Mass and other religious ceremonies to the present day.

Ahead of the opening of the Custody’s new Terra Sancta Museum at Jerusalem’s St. Savior Monastery, objects from its incredible collection have been traveling to institutions in Europe and now North America. A 2013 exhibition showcased loans from the Holy Sepulcher at the Palace of Versailles, and more recent presentations have been held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon; the Gaiás Centre Museum, Santiago de Compostela; and the Museo Marino Marini, Florence. After the Frick debuts its unique U.S. exhibition in New York, To the Holy Sepulcher will travel to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (March 15 through June 28, 2026).

The exhibition is organized by Xavier F. Salomon, the Frick’s Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, along with Jacques Charles-Gaffiot and Benoît Constensoux, members of the Terra Sancta Museum’s Scientific Committee. The presentation continues the Frick’s strong tradition of shows centered on European gold- and silversmithing of this period. Past highlights include Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court (2012); Pierre Gouthière: Virtuoso Gilder at the French Court (2016–17); Luigi Valadier: Splendor in Eighteenth-Century Rome (2018–19); and The Gregory Gift (2023). The award-winning Valadier exhibition was curated by art historian Alvar González-Palacios, who in the 1980s rediscovered and published the Custody of the Holy Land’s artistic holdings for the first time, laying the groundwork for this unprecedented project.

Commented Salomon, “This exhibition represents a completely unique opportunity for visitors, building on the Frick’s successful past presentations highlighting masters of European decorative arts. Displayed for the first time in the United States, the exquisite objects in this show are rare survivals, as similar objects were often severely damaged, melted down, or otherwise lost—nothing like them survives in the countries in which they were created. We are deeply grateful for this collaboration with the Custody of the Holy Land as we look ahead to the opening of the Terra Sancta Museum, which will offer a more permanent public display of these treasures.”

For his work on the exhibition, occurring over a period of years, Salomon has been awarded the Cross of Merit (Crucem Ex Merito) by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The ceremony for this prestigious honor will take place this fall. To the Holy Sepulcher will be Salomon’s final exhibition at The Frick Collection, after a tenure of more than a decade at the helm of the museum’s Curatorial Department. Following the show’s opening, in November, Salomon will take up the role of Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.

EXHIBITION GALLERIES ORGANIZED BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

This show marks the first presentation in all three rooms of the Frick’s new Ronald S. Lauder Exhibition Galleries, which opened earlier this summer. Visitors will first encounter an introduction to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, including an eighteenth-century scale model of the church, exquisite vestments, a gilded reliquary, and a monumental silver relief depicting the Resurrection. The exhibition’s display will then be organized geographically by the countries in which the objects on view were created and subsequently sent to Jerusalem.

Objects from the Kingdom of France mainly comprise prestigious gifts for use in worship, commissioned and sent by Kings Louis XIII, Louis XIV, and Louis XV. Some of these are completely unique survivals, similar metallic objects having been melted down by later monarchs or during the French Revolution.

The Holy Roman Empire is represented by donations from Emperor Charles VI and his daughter, Empress Maria Theresa. These include complete sets of vestments and gold and silver objects such as a large sanctuary lamp, as well as a ewer and basin and an engraved gilt-silver dish that have secular forms but served liturgical functions.

The Kingdom of Spain was by far the leading donor to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Gifts on view from Spain trace its monarchs’ enduring devotion to holy sites, including Philip II (represented by a beautiful chalice) and Philip IV and his son Charles II (who gave a massive Throne of Eucharistic Exposition along with candlesticks and vases featuring the royal arms of Spain).

Highlights of the section devoted to the Kingdom of Portugal were given by John V, known as “the Magnanimous” for his luxurious commissions. These include vestments and a gold sanctuary lamp, which have no surviving parallels in Portugal today.

Finally, gifts from modern-day Italy are divided into sections for the Kingdom of Naples and the Republics of Venice and Genoa. Venice is represented by vestments and a pair of monumental silver torchères, which stand at more than eight feet tall, while Genoa gave a beautiful cope featuring intricate embroidered floral designs and a spectacular scene of St. George attacking the dragon. The Neapolitan gifts are among the finest examples in the show and were all given by King Charles III, later king of Spain. These include an exquisite crucifix in gold, lapis lazuli, and gemstones; a highly adorned Throne of Eucharistic Exposition topped with a crown; and the magnificent crozier that graces the exhibition catalogue’s cover.

RICH DIALOGUES WITH THE FRICK’S PERMANENT COLLECTION

The objects in the exhibition also offer illuminating connections to works from the Frick’s permanent collection. Chief among them is Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis in the Desert. The saint’s spiritual vision and stigmatization depicted in the panel are believed to have taken place in 1224, just five years after Francis visited North Africa, which may have included a trip to holy sites in Jerusalem. By the 1250s, his followers had established a base there, which led to the creation of the Custody of the Holy Land. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to view Bellini’s celebrated painting in its traditional location in the museum’s Living Hall.

A large Throne of Eucharistic Exposition and a set of candlesticks in the exhibition were given by Philip IV of Spain, a few years after Diego Velázquez painted the Frick’s captivating portrait of the king, on view in the museum’s West Gallery. Louis XIII, who donated several silver objects and a set of fleur-de-lys vestments, and Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, who gave a gold sanctuary lamp, are both depicted in portrait medals in the Frick’s new Medals Room. Maria Theresa and her father, Charles VI, were also intimately connected to Vienna’s Du Paquier manufactory; many pieces of goldwork in the exhibition feature patterns used in Du Paquier porcelain, examples of which are shown in a new passage on the museum’s second floor.

Finally, a number of objects in the show were gifts of Louis XIV of France and his successor, Louis XV, including a set of vestments with the latter’s coat of arms. Both monarchs are the subjects of sculptures in the museum’s galleries. Louis XV’s official mistresses also have notable connections to the Frick: Madame de Pompadour commissioned François Boucher’s series The Four Seasons, in the museum’s West Vestibule, while Madame du Barry commissioned Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love, which adorns the Fragonard Room.